


Three's Company

by DragonEyez



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Other, we're building up to ot4 because that's my brand at this point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonEyez/pseuds/DragonEyez
Summary: Echo thought their neighbor problems were over, but then the noise started again





	Three's Company

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Purely Aesthetically (Of Course)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13497058) by [merthurlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurlin/pseuds/merthurlin). 



> shout out to maayan for encouraging me to write sequels to all her good good content

The banging was happening again. Echo groaned, rolling over and covering their head with a pillow to at least _attempt_ to block out the noise. After they and Grand began their...thing, Echo had at least _hoped_ that he would finally go back to his studio, solving everyone’s problems. But apparently, that was asking too much of Grand-Fucking-Magnificent. They suffered through five more minutes of incessant noise before throwing their sheets off and storming out of their apartment.

“GRAND!” They yelled, pounding on his door. “Grand Magnificent shut the hell up!”

The door swung open just as Echo’s arm pulled back and someone who was _definitely_ not Grand stared down at them with wide eyes. He had a shock of badly bleached hair and patchy scruff and an...eclectic sense of style. Somehow, he managed to be an even bigger disaster than Grand and in a way that, while very fitting for him, made him look like a carnival performer. They blinked at each other and Echo tried to think of something to say. 

“You’re not Grand.” Echo eventually settled on. 

The man let out a loud laugh. “Well I should hope not! I’d have a really hard time maintaining my brand that way. Well that’s not true, one time somebody genuinely believed Grand was me and that turned into a whole mess but anyway hi I’m Gig Kep-hart!” He spoke like everything was one big sentence and it took Echo a moment to process what he’d said.

“Echo Reverie.” They shook his hand. “So what’s Grand’s internet sensation doing here?”

“I’m visiting! I haven’t seen him in a minute and I thought it was time, you know? Oh and sorry about the noise by the way, that was me. I’m trying a new thing where I do easy DIYs that people could use around the house.”

“That’s...surprisingly more practical than what I would expect from one of Grand’s friends. Sorry for the,” they gestured to the door. “Yelling and everything I guess.”

Gig laughed again and moved aside, opening up the apartment to them. “Well it’s only fair. I _did_ wake you up. Want some coffee?”

“Coffee would be great actually.” Echo stepped in and collapsed onto Grand’s couch. They yelped as they sat down on something hard. A hammer, they realized. “And _this_ why we spend at my place than his.”

“Yeah, takes a while to get used to his system, huh?” Gig reemerged from the kitchen with two steaming mugs of coffee, offering one to Echo. They looked at his own, and their surprise must have shown, because Gig laughed again (jeez, this guy laughed a _lot_ ).

“I’ve got a real sweet tooth, but I’ve always liked by coffee black. I know it throws people off though.”

“You do seem like a ‘I’ll have two pumps of everything’ kind of guy.”

“That’s what Kent says. You know, I can’t stand Grand’s new coffee maker. It’s got too many buttons, it took for _ever_ to learn how to use it.”

“Where _is_ Grand, anyway?”

“I think he got a new commission or something, so he’s at his studio. Since I’m crashing here he said I could use his apartment but to...you know now that I’m thinking about it, I just realized that he DID warn me about keeping the noise down, sorry about that.” He looked sheepish. Echo patted him on the knee.

“It’s alright. I really should be used to it, I guess. It’s not like it’s anything worse than anything’s ever done. So, what are you working on?”

“Shelves with pull out drawers! Check it out!: He leapt off the couch, miracuously managing to avoid spilling his coffee, and moved over to a pile of wood with a camera aimed at it, and Echo realized what they’d thought was a pile was a half-finished structure that looked like it had been contained after being disturbed. Gig must’ve piled it when Echo was breating the door down. Excitedly, he set aside the other boards and revealed a single drawer which he proudly pulled back and forth.

“See! Awesome, right?”

“It’s pretty great, yeah.”

“Thanks I- oh wait, just got a text.” He fished his phone from his pocket and his grin got even bigger, which Echo previously hadn’t thought possible. “Look at this picture of Duck my little sister just sent me.”

Duck? They thought, but the question was answered when they suddenly found a phone shoved in their face with a picture of a very pretty pinto horse on the screen.”

“Is that..your horse?”

“Yep! His name’s Duck, he’s great.”

“...Why is your horse’s name Duck?”

“Well so when we first got him, I wanted to name him Chuck Tingle as a joke, but my mom put her foot down on that, so I named him Duck Tingle instead through a progression of jokes.”

“I feel like the answer just left me with more questions.”

Gig shrugged and put his phone away. “Anyway it’s been really cool getting to know you, but I should probably finish my video.”

“Oh do you want me to go then? I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome anyway.”

“Oh no no no! Actually if you’re cool with it can I introduce you on my vlog?”

Echo balked. They knew how many viewers Gig had, did they really want all those people knowing who they were? But Gig looked so excited, and Echo didn’t know if they could actually crush in good conscience. As if sensing their hesitation, Gig scrambled to say, “Don’t worry you won’t be the focus, I just like to talk about my friends.”

“...No last name. And I’m not getting off the couch.”

“Sweet!”

Gig fiddled with the camera before jumping back in front of it in a Peter Pan stance that had Echo hiding a smile behind their hand.

“Okay sorry for the abrupt stop, I’ll try to fix that in post. But I was interrupted by a by an extremely disgruntled neighbor who I apparently woke up. It’s all good now, we’re friends, and I’d like to introduce them before we get back to building!” He spun the camera around so that it face Echo, and they froze, not sure what to do. “This is Echo, who kindly did _not_ kill me, even though they would have been 100% justified and my ghost would have backed them up in court.”

Echo waved awkwardly before wrapping both hands around their mug tightly. “Um, hi?”

Gig beamed at them, and they felt their face flush. They were immediately thankful that their skin was dark enough to (hopefully) hide the blush from the camera, and once Gig moved the camera back towards himself, they were finally able to relax. 

It was interesting, watching him work. He had a natural energy that lended itself to his presence. If Echo had thought he was magnetic before, now the natural charm and positivity was ramped up to an 11. He seemed to have no problem chatting away while working, switching between anecdotes or jokes and detailed instructions with ease. Echo caught themself laughing a couple times, which got them a broad smile from Gig each time. Once he was finally done, Gig signed off and sat back down next to them. 

“Oh no my coffee’s cold.” He looked at it with surprise, as if he hadn’t realized that abandoning it for the at long would mean that it was no longer fresh. Echo laughed at him and stood up, holding a hand out for the mug. 

“Here, I’ll heat it up for you.” 

“Oh thanks I mean you don’t have to do that I totally could’ve-”

“Don’t even worry about it I’ve got it.”

Thankfully, Grand’s microwave wasn’t nearly as complicated as the coffee maker, and they threw Gig’s coffee in while they washed their own mug and put it back in the pantry, where apparently was where Grand kept all his dishes. They came back to see Gig looking half-asleep on the couch, head lolled back against the cushions. With a snort, Echo placed the mug on the counter and sat back down. 

“So much for coffee, huh?”

“I’m,” he broke off with a yawn. “I’m sorry. Recording takes a lot out of me. Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, I’m being a bad host now.”

“I don’t need to be entertained, I’m fully capable of sitting quietly. Do you want me to go so you can sleep?”

“Nah.” Gig leaned over, resting his head against Echo’s shoulder. “Just gonna -yawn- take a quick power nap. ‘Sall good.”

Echo chuckled, but did their best to avoid moving and disturbing Gig. They fell into a sort of twilight sleep as well, not quite asleep but no longer alert. It was peaceful, until they heard keys in the door.

“Oh no.” They heard Grand whisper in a horrified tone. “They’ve _met_.”

“Shut up and come join us, it’s nap time.” Echo waved him over.

“But I’ll wrinkle my-”

“Nap time, Grand.”  


It took some maneuvering, but eventually the three of them manage to squeeze themselves onto the couch without waking Gig, and Echo happily drifted off for real. It was comfortable, albeit squished, but it worked. Their last thought before they finally conked out was that maybe they could get used to it.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome, and i can be found [here](https://theunacceptablepylades.tumblr.com/) or on twitter [@queerlydeparted](https://twitter.com/QueerlyDeparted)


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